Cord Model 810 Westchester Sedan 1936, Estados Unidos
Fotografia
1936 Cord Model 810 Westchester Sedan
Registration no. not UK registered
Chassis no. 2140A
Registration no. not UK registered
Chassis no. 2140A
One of the most iconic American cars of all time
Front-wheel drive
Lycoming V8 engine
From the penultimate year of Cord production
Owned by the Key Collection since 2009
Front-wheel drive
Lycoming V8 engine
From the penultimate year of Cord production
Owned by the Key Collection since 2009
One of the few automobiles deemed worthy of inclusion in the
Museum of Modern Art in New York, and arguably the most easily recognised
American car of all time, the Cord 810 debuted in November 1935, receiving a
rapturous reception at US automobile shows. The work of a team headed by
Duesenberg designer Gordon Buehrig, the 810 body style with louvred 'coffin'
nose, streamlined, spat-shaped wings and absence of running boards would prove
immensely influential, its distinctive features being borrowed by most
mainstream manufacturers by the decade's end.
The 810's arrival marked the end of a hiatus in Cord
production, its predecessor - the L29 - having disappeared in 1931. Errett
Lobban Cord had introduced the L29 in 1929 as a gap-filling model priced
between his Cord Corporation's Auburn and Duesenberg lines. Powered by a
Lycoming straight eight, the Cord L29 featured front wheel drive, then in vogue
at Indianapolis. Its front-drive layout made for a low-slung frame, and the
freedom this gave coachbuilders meant that the Cord was soon attracting the
attention of master craftsmen on both sides of the Atlantic.
Front-wheel-drive like the L29, the 810 differed from its predecessor by virtue
of its more compact Lycoming V8 engine and four-speed, pre-selector gearbox.
Set further back in the chassis, the former endowed the 810 with better balance
and came with 125bhp in standard trim or 170bhp when supercharged. Custom
sedans on a longer wheelbase joined the four-model 812 range for 1937, though
it is doubtful whether any independent offering ever matched Buehrig's original
Beverly fastback sedan for sheer style. Priced competitively in the
$2,000-3,000 range, the 810/812 should have been a huge success, though, sadly,
this was not to be. The Cord Corporation was in deep financial trouble, and
when its proprietor sold up in August 1937, it spelled the end not just for
Cord, but for Auburn and Duesenberg as well.

























